Lightningstruck Dove
by TheBookFiend
Summary: I need a new title. This is an AU, with Jason Vs Piper. Fluffy.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hiya guys! I know I said it's an AU, but all I meant by that was that Jason and Piper are not dating and never were!**

 **Enjoy!**

Jason grabbed the flag from its place upon Zeus' fist and jumped back to the ground. He landed lightly in between the groaning sentries, and then took off at a run.

The creek, the boundary line, drew closer and closer as he raced towards it, the pink flag whistling in the breeze. He could just about make out a patch of light blue breaking through the trees on the other side: someone had got his own flag.

Putting on a burst of speed, he called the winds ho help him go faster. Twenty metres, ten. The other group was getting nearer too, but at a much slower rate. He saw Percy and a few Athena campers stumble out of the trees behind them, but they wouldn't make it in time to stop the group.

Five metres. Then:

"Turn left!"

He obeyed without thinking, and flew straight into a tree. Collapsed against the trunk, he could only watch helplessly as the small party carried his flag across the creek and it turned pink too. The lightning bolt rippled and became a dove.

The girl at the head of the group; the one carrying the flag, who had shouted, crouched down before him.

"You'll have to be better than _that_ to beat my cabin, Grace."

She stood up, exchanged high fives with her cabin mates, and walked off laughing, her brown braid swishing behind her.

"I hate her..." Jason grumbled as Percy stretched out a hand to pull him up. "What did I ever do?"

"Dunno, mate." There was something pink on Percy's face, and his eyes were unfocused.

Annabeth walked up to Percy and kissed him passionately. One of the Stoll brothers wolf whistled.

"Um... guys? Guys?!"

They broke apart, and the smudge on Percy's face was gone.

Annabeth grinned. "I just had to make sure Drew hadn't got to him properly..."

That explained the lipstick .

"Anyway, Grace, are we teaming up again next week?" Percy rubbed the back of his neck. He was blushing slightly.

"You bet, Jackson. We gotta beat them soon. Who knew Aphrodite was so powerful?"

Lou Ellen walked up at that moment. "Nice flying, Jason!" She giggled. "Just, you know, watch out for trees."

"I- I- I didn't choose to fly into a tree, Lou!"

As if to add insult (and more injury) to injury, the flag chose that minute to fall out of the tree and onto Jason's head.

Percy laughed. Annabeth tried to stifle it, but pretty soon she was laughing too.

XxX

At dinner, the entire camp seemed to have heard about the tree incident. Sitting alone at table 1, Jason could hear giggles and the occasional jibing comment. To cap it all off, various people stood up all through the meal, shouting at him to "Turn left!".

On her table, the cause of all of this sat and joked with the rest of her cabin. Table 10 all wore golden laurel wreaths in their hair, due to their winning capture the flag, and had dressed to accent this. They drew the eye on any normal day, but now...

Jason glowered at their counseler's back.

 _You won today_ , McLean, he cast his thoughts towards her _. But I'll get back to you..._

Piper glanced in his direction and chuckled again.

 **A/N So if you didn't already guess, there is a rivalry between the two. I'm not sure how this is going to develop, but please tell me what you thought!**

 **~Fi**

 **(Book** **Fi** **end)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N So... I think I have an idea for a possible plot. This probably won't be updated every day in future, just saying.**

On his way back to his cabin, Jason made certain to take a route that, whilst longer, contained only right turns. If he had to hear another person telling him to turn left, or to watch out for trees, he thought he'd explode. Thus, no left turns.

The night was moonless and surprisingly cool for the time of year - with the summer solstice only a few days off, many campers had packed away their long sleeves, but they were probably regretting it now. Jason called a warm breeze to rush around him, driving the chill away.

He paused for a moment by the beach and watched the spot on the horizon where the sub was setting into the sea. The path it left on the water sparkled invitingly, but he was too tired and bruised to give in to it now. He had refused to ask one of the Apollo campers to see to him, as he was certain that nothing was broken, and did not wish to appear badly affected by Piper's trick.

It was only sort of true. He _hadn't_ been hurt (much) by hitting the tree and then the flag (that was rather heavy) falling on his head. What... was hurt the right word? What affected him was the way that she always seemed to single him out. If it had been Percy running with the flag, she would only have called "slow down", Jason was willing to bet.

What was her problem with him?

He sighed and turned (right) in the direction of his cabin. Everything they did turned into a contest. Capture the flag, obviously, but then climbing, archery, even canoeing, for heaven's sake.

He would just have to beat her at something, that was all.

XxX

The next morning, he got his chance. His first session after breakfast (waffles with cream and honey) was sword fighting- and Zeus and Poseidon, being only two people cabins at best, had a joint session with cabin 10.

If there was one thing Jason was good at, it was sword fighting. And flying. And messing with the weather. And taking command. And running in full armour. And-

"-son. Earth to Jason."

"What?" Percy had joined him on his way to the arena.

"I was just saying, forget it."

Jason blinked at the green eyes beside him. "Forget... what?"

But he thought he knew what Percy was talking about.

"The Aphrodite cabin, that's _what._ They're a cabin of almost twenty-five people, and you're... just you. They'll slaughter you if you try and embarrass them. Or their counsellor, for that matter."

That stung. "So you don't think I'm a match for Piper McLean?"

Percy winced at his angry retort. "I'm just _saying,_ that's all. You just need to be car-"

"See you in the arena, Percy," Jason snapped, and stormed away.

He knew he shouldn't have gotten mad at Percy just then, but it touch on almost exactly what he was thinking.

He was a son of Jupiter (or Zeus, whichever), one of the most powerful demigods ever to set foot anywhere; but what if he wasn't? What if he was weaker that he thought?

Arriving at the arena put a stop to his thoughts.

When it came to choosing sparring partners, he looked at Piper. She held his gaze. _Challenge accepted._

"No use of powers?"

"Agreed."

He hadn't thought she would agree to that.

Piper was fast, and her aim was good. She slashed out viciously, and defended well. But she was armed with a dagger; only a handspan and a half at most.

Jason had a full length sword, and he fought to win.

They didn't notice the ring of campers surrounding them; that they were the only ones fighting.

Their duel went on longer. Piper almost scored a hid on his left arm - he responded with a sweeping cut to her knees, which she jumped and tried to bring her dagger down in his helmet.

That was her mistake.

He stepped aside and allowed her momentum to carry her forwards, then stuck out his foot. She went sprawling in the sawdust at his feet. The part of the crowd made of Aphrodite campers groaned, but the rest cheered. He hadn't realised that the Ares cabin had come to watch.

He placed his sword to her back. "Submit, McLean?"

Instead of agreeing, Piper snarled her displeasure at being bested.

Jason lifted one foot to start walking off, when-

"Trip over, Grace."

He also landed on his face in the dust.

"McLean! We agreed no powers!" He spat out a mouthful of sawdust.

Piper picked herself up, brushed off her shirt and jeans, and smirked.

"Oopsie..." The rest of her cabin joined in the laughter now.

This was too much.

Rolling up to his feet, Jason called the winds to help him. A fierce gust blew her braids back to him - only one of them returned to its place down her back.

The other landed on the floor by his feet, severed by his blade.

The crowd gasped as one.

Piper whipped around and opened her mouth again, eyes blazing. "Grace-"

Using the winds to divert the sound of her voice, Jason found that he didn't have to listen to her commands. Her eyes widened as he stepped forward with his sword, ready to remove her other braid.

 _"STOP!"_ He glared at Clarisse, standing between them.

"Clarisse, mo-"

"Shut up, Jason. You too, Piper. Find somewhere else to kill each other - I've got things I need to do. Shake hands."

It was so unlike Clarisse to be giving peaceful orders that both he and Piper stared at her. Her scowl deepened.

Grudgingly, they shook hands.

"I'll get you for that, Grace," Piper promised.

"I'm counting on it, Beauty Queen."

Jason turned, picking up his trophy, and left the arena. He didn't really know what he was going to do with a strip of brown hair, but it was worth taking it just to see the look on Piper's face.

 _One-all._

 **A/N Reviews would be appreciated...**

 **No, I don't know what Jason's gonna do with his 'trophy' either.**

 **Hope you enjoyed it! Oh, if you have a better idea for the title, please tell me.**

 **~Fi**


	3. Chapter 3

_He cut off her braid. He cut off her braid, and then walked off with it like it was a trophy._

And Clarisse had had the nerve to get between them. She knew you didn't mess with Aphrodite, and she still did it. Love started wars, and endured through them. Love is not _stopped_ by war...

 _He had cut off her braid_.

Piper strode angrily up and down her cabin, snarling at the walls. Her single braid flapped weakly, as though admitting the loss of its twin.

 _He had cut off her braid._

He was going to pay for that one. She would make sure of it.

 _He had cut off her braid._

 _Two could play at that game_ , she thought, picking up her dagger. Grasping her single remaining braid in one hand, she sawed brutally at it until it came away.

She threw the plait on to her quilt and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked... different. Her hair hung unevenly around her face, almost to her shoulders on one side, and only just past her jaw on the other.

She removed the longer pieces. At least she was presentable now.

"Lacy?"

Lacy looked up, and dropped the shoe she was holding. The heel snapped on the floor.

"Ohmigosh, Piper, that looks great!" She squealed.

"I like it too. What do you think it says?"

"Rebel princess, definitely. Will you do my hair like that?"

"Sure. Do you know what we have after lunch?"

Lacy sat down on the bed.

"And are you sure you want this?"

"Yes, and yes." The first few locks of hair fell away. "We have archery."

Piper felt a sinking feeling. "With Zeus and Poseidon, yes?"

"Yes. And that cute Apollo instructor... Will? What's going on between you and Jason, anyway? I mean, first you -"

"Nothing. He's just an arrogant, stuck up show off, that's all."

" _I_ think he's cute."

Piper took off slightly more hair than she meant to.

XxX

Piper's new hairstyle was very popular. Several campers from her own cabin, and one or two from Hermes came to ask if they could have it done too; Piper agreed, but said it would look best if it was self-done.

"It's unique that way," she explained to Katie Gardener.

On the walk over to the archery arena, she even went as far as to mention Jason - but only lightly.

"Sure, I was mad when Grace cut my braid, but really, I feel so much freer like this. I feel more powerful."

She did not mention that she was planning revenge. That would make it seem like she took him seriously.

At the archery range, they were greeted by Will and Kayla. As usual, Kayla was the main instructor - Will just handed out spare arrows.

Will pretty much ignored Lacy. "Every time I talk to him, he just looks into the forest," she complained.

Jason, typically, arrived late.

She put on a sweet smile as she walked up to him.

"Jason! And I thought you weren't going to make it! How about a little bet, hmm?"

Mitchell walked up to them. "Sorry, were you taking a bet?"

Piper could have hugged Mitchell just then. There was no way Jason could refuse now. And sure enough...

"What's the deal?"

"Oh, it's simple, really. The person to hit the target most, yes?"

He scrunched his brow, clearly trying to see the catch. "What does the winner get?"

"The loser has to do one thing the winner wants. Deal?"

He still looked a little suspicious, but started nodding. "De-"

"Wait, wait, wait! I almost forgot!" She giggled. "No powers, okay? I can't charmspeak an arrow, you can't use the winds to control their flight. Deal?"

Jason almost withdrew his hand, but couldn't with Mitchell watching if he wanted to save face.

"Deal."

They shook.

XxX

Predictably, Piper won. Jason, being used to being able to control his arrow whilst it was in mid air, kept missing the target. He almost hit Lacy once. Kayla shook her head. "Honestly. You're almost as bad as Will today..."

Piper just didn't ask. All of her arrows hit at least the second ring of target; one of them even edged into the centre loop.

When they had both fired all their arrows, she turned, beaming, to a scowling Jason.

"What do I have to do?"

She considered him. "I'll tell you after dinner."

If she had told him to come back after dinner, she would have wasted the forfeit. As it was, she had time to think, and he would have time to worry.

She loved being the one in control.

Lacy and Mitchell caught up to her as she walked away.

"What's this about, Piper?"

"Lacy? What's what about?"

Mitchell exchanged a look with the blond, and flicked his ear lobe. He always did that when he was nervous. "Well, recently, you've seemed... um..."

"Sorta... obsessed with Grace." Lacy finished awkwardly. "Do you like him or something? Because Drew's dying to have a shot at him..."

Piper wheeled around to face them. She must have been glaring, because they both recoiled.

"There is nothing - _nothing_ \- going on between Jason Grace and myself. I don't care whether he goes out with all the girls in camp _and_ half the guys! I don't care about him! Drew can have him!"

She stormed off.

Behind her, she heard Mitchell let out a low whistle, and Lacy whisper, "I'll tell Drew she's into him. She _obviously_ is..."

 _I am not._

XxX

"I've decided your forfeit."

"What is it?" Jason growled.

"You have to stand on the roof of the Big House and yell to the whole camp that you're scared of... the water. That you hate the ocean and everything in it." She was being unnecessarily harsh, and she knew it.

But she did not care. Whatever he did, he managed to do it the way that would irritate her most.

He can't just run with a flag - he has to prove he can fly. He doesn't just defeat her in sword play: he asks her to accept his dominance. He doesn't just cut off her plait - he then walks off with it like it's a trophy.

"I'm _not_ doing that! Percy'll kill me!"

"You agreed to the net. You lost. Do the forfeit!" She didn't realise she'd been charmspeaking until his eyes glazed over. "Wait! You have to do it consciously!"

The charmspeak lifted and he glared venemously at her.

"Fine. I'll do it." He bit off the words angrily, then spun on his heel and walked off.

Two-one to Piper. So why did she feel like she'd just lost?

 **A/N I'm going to do two chapters Jason, two chapters Piper, I think.**

 **The stuff about Will being bad at archery? I explained that in my solangelo (Meant to Be), feel free to read it!**

 **Reviews make (my part of) the world go round!**

 **~Fi**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Sorry for not updating sooner: I had trouble getting this chapter to work out. It isn't one of my best ones...**

The next morning dawned with a loud squeal from Drew's bunk. Piper rolled over to glance at the clock, then groaned and pulled a blanket over her head.

 _Couldn't Drew wait for the sun to come up? 5:13 AM was far too early for anyone (with the exception of Apollo campers) to be stirring._

Then someone ripped the covers away from her bed.

"Drew!"

Piper glared as the other girl dumped her blanket onto the floor. Drew, predictably, looked perfect, not a hair out of place, despite the early hour. Piper... looked like she'd just woken up. She rubbed at her eyes.

"Wake up, Piper! It's challenge week!"

Other people were emerging from their bunks all over the cabin; awakened by Drew's loud voice.

"Wha...?" Piper had no clue what Drew was going on about. She pulled her pillow over her face and tried to go back to sleep, but -

"You _FORGOT!"_

Lacy peeked over the edge of her top bunk. Her hair stuck up in much the same way that a chick's feathers might, and her blue eyes were still half closed. "Shuddup, Drew. It's half five..."

"But it's the first day of contest week! The Romans are arriving soon, and -"

"Wait, what?" Piper sat up. She vaguely remembered something about a dual camps festival... but she had thought it wasn't happening until...

"It's the sixteenth!"

 _Oh. I guess I was so caught up in revenging on Jason that I forgot the date..._

Charlotte jumped out of bed and sprinted for the showers. "There's a really cute girl in second cohort..."

Then everyone was talking at once, getting up, digging around for cloths and soaps.

"Has anyone seen my cherries scrunchie...?"

"What do you think of this tee? Too casual?"

"There's a few cute guys in first..."

"I hope Steph and Kelly are coming; I found a few things I think would suit them..."

"Did you actually forget, Piper?" Mitchell was at her shoulder.

"No... yes... only kinda. I've just been busy."

He wandered off to find a toothbrush, leaving Piper to ponder how the day would progress.

XxX

At breakfast (three hours after Aphrodite cabin's impromptu alarm), Chiron announced that the day would be full of friendly competitions of Greek verses Romans as the main teams, but then each cabin against the other and cohort verses cohort for extra points. The Romans arrived around ten and started setting up camp on the strawberry fields again.

Aphrodite's first challenge was climbing, against fifth cohort, Demeter, Hephaestus, and...

"Him _again!"_

Lacy chuckled. "You said yourself that there was nothing between you. Why does he bother you so much?"

"He's always trying to prove that he's the best... just because his dad's Zeus doesn't mean that he has to go out of his way to prove he's better than us."

Lacy nodded understandingly and walked off.

Climbing was overseen by a few cloud nymphs, who flirted the first ten minutes away with some of fifth cohort. Hazel, a few metres off, kicked at the ground impatiently.

When the nymphs finally remembered that they were supposed to be coaching, half the gathered crowd had taken to trying to show off to the other half.

"Okie, guys! Your first challenge today..." squeaked a peppy nymph with bright pink hair. Piper hadn't even realised cloud nymphs could dye their hair; it didn't go with her skin tone.

"... is climbing!" Announced the other one. "I'm Ariana, and this is Tallie!"

Tallie waved. "All you have to do in order to bring triumph to your camp and faction..."

"... is reach the top of the ropes first!"

Ariana gestured to a row of long ropes that stretched up, up to the top of the climbing wall.

"This won't be too bad," muttered someone off to Piper's left.

"Easy," scoffed another.

"Right!" Continued Tallie, "everyone stand by a rope!"

There was a scurrying abs a great deal of pushing as people tried to grab spots near their friends.

"On your marks... get set..."

"WAIT!" A few people started climbing, then slid back down their ropes as they thought about what had been said. "Tallie, are we forgetting something?"

"You know, Ariana, I think we are."

Murmers ran through the assembled half-bloods. _Now what was going to happen?_

"I reckon I'll reach the top first, huh?"

Piper started. She had not realised that Jason was on the station immediately to her left. Drew was on his other side.

"You wish, Grace." He had a black eye, Piper noted. That must be from his forfeit last night. She felt a small twinge of guilt, and squashed it angrily.

"Okie, guys! Ready, set, GO!"

Piper jumped. Thanks to Jason, she had missed whatever it was the nymphs had told them.

It soon became clear. She had got no further that ten metres up her rope, when the end burst into -

 _Fire._

She started climbing faster, her heart pounding, blood roaring in her ears. _Fire._

As the flames flickered up each rope, climbers let out small yelps.

Piper was over half way up the wall; nearly at the top, when Jason took his revenge.

A great gust of wind made the spark on her rope roar, and start racing up towards her. At the same time, she started to sway in the air. Glancing down, sweat beading on her forehead, she glimpsed Jason's triumphant grin; then her rope gave a particularly violent lurch, and she slipped towards the end of the cord and the flames devouring it.

 _Not the fire!_

Her palms were slippery with sweat; she could not climb back up. She could only go down.

She let her legs swing free of the cord so that she was hanging by just her hands, and slipped further down, watching the flames creep, predator-like, towards her.

Then it reached her hands. She felt her skin blistering, and screamed aloud; whether from pain I'd fear she wasn't sure.

Then she was falling.

Down, down, down, the wind whistling in her ears as she plummeted. Down, down up.

 _Up?_

She floated upwards and landed gently at the top of the cliff. Tallie - or was it Ariana? - fussed over her burnt hands, commenting on how lucky she was that they nymphs had control over the winds; Piper had eyes only for the one who had caused her fall.

She was still shaking - pyrophobia was the one thing she'd never been able to exert control over.

Jason met her gaze coolly, then turned to help pull Drew over the lip of the cliff.

There was an old arrow embedded in the ground by her feet: she pulled it out and started twirling it between her fingers.

Drew smiled charmingly up at Jason and said something, his reply made her giggle. She put a hand on his arm, and he did not brush it off, he smiled.

Then Drew tilted her face up to his and kissed him full on the mouth.

The arrow in Piper's hands snapped.

 **A/N** ** _Now_** **I get an idea. Well, I think I know what'll happen in the next chapter...**

 **Please do review me, it means a lot.**

 **~Fi**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N I had an idea! *dances on the spot***

Jason had not been planning on kissing Drew, but he didn't really get a say in the matter. Sure, Drew was pretty, but...

And then she kissed him. So he went along with it.

Dinner was a noisy affair; campers swapping tables with abandon. Jason ended up being dragged around from table to table to 'socialise,' but he felt like a show dog being put through its paces; Drew was clearly just trying to show him off to everyone else. He did have a brief conversation with Reyna and Rachel at one point, and another with Percy, Annabeth, Frank, and Hazel, but that too was cut short.

Part of him was treacherously grateful for the lack of time to sit and think. While he was constantly moving, constantly exchanging greetings with people, he did not have time to think about Piper; the way she had completely freaked out and fallen when he'd been trying to scare her, or the expression on her face when Drew had kissed him. He tried to banish her from his thoughts completely, in fact.

He failed miserably.

Picking up a slice of pizza, he thought he saw her mane of chocolate brown hair cutting through the crowd towards him, but before he could be certain, Drew had dragged him on again.

"Grace!" Some one behind him yelled, and he spun, thinking she had come to take revenge for that afternoon - but it was only Dakota, wanting to know where he could find the Stoll brothers.

"Why did you ask _me?"_

At the campfire that evening, Jason ended up with the girl he supposed he was dating sitting on his lap, in the first ring out from the fire (she had wanted to sit there; he supposed she wanted to keep him visible.)

After a few songs, Chiron banged his hoof on the wooden platform he was standing on.

"Friends! There will be a slight change in the activities for the rest of the week, so I'd advise you all to listen closely!"

In the silence that followed, everyone could clearly hear the snoring from the back row. "Clovis!"

"Thank-you so much- oh. I'm awake!"

A small explosion came from where the Hephaestus and Vulcan kids sat, and they burst out laughing.

"Half-bloods! Your attention, _please!"_

Everyone turned back to Chiron.

"The remainder of the week's activities will not be Greek versus Roman, or cabin versus cabin, or legion versus legion! It will be pairs versus pairs! That is to say, you will all be working in groups of two to try and obtain the most points. Whichever does will win a prize!"

Excited murmurs rippled through the assembled demigods, and people started moving towards their friends. Drew rubbed her head into the side of his neck, and he felt a surge of irritation with her.

"Your partners," Chiron called out, "have already been decided, and are as follows..." he began reading from a list.

"Travis will be with Katie. Connor with Gwen. Pollux with Dakota. Reyna with Rachel..."

Jason zoned out slightly as campers began moving towards their pairs. Some people seemed delighted with their partners (Travis smiled goofily at Katie, who kissed him on the cheek), whilst others did not (Clarisse scowled grumpily at Roman daughter of Iris Charlotte, as Chris Rodriguez moved to stand beside Betty, daughter of Venus.)

And then:

"Drew and Seb."

Drew's eyes widened and she pouted, then caught a glance of the muscled Roman, stood up, and kissed Jason very obviously on the lips before walking over to him. Jason rolled his eyes. He probably wouldn't be Drew's boyfriend for much longer.

He didn't mind that at _all._

"And Ralph. Percy and Annabeth. Jason and," _please some one decent,_ Jason prayed, "Piper. Yurt and..."

 _That,_ he minded.

Scanning the seething mass of people, he eventually met Piper's eyes. She was standing perfectly still, slightly apart from the crowd, with a smudge of soot on her cheek. She glared at him.

Here we go... he thought, his heart sinking.

At least he would know when she decided to take revenge on him.

 **A/N Thank you, and goodnight.**

 **(I've always wanted to say that)**

 **~Fi**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N I'M SORRY! I got distracted, abs then I was forced to socialize, and then I had to go to bed early, and then I left my phone in the kitchen... so the update is late. Sorry!**

 **Thank-you, kandyloverland, for telling me to stop procrastinating and write this.**

 **(I've used Daedalus's maze as it appears in Hidden Oracle, which I** ** _finally_** **managed to read.)**

"Heroes!" Chiron slammed his hoof against the floor of the dining pavilion. "Good morning!"

A sleepy chorus of groans greeted him, Jason among them. For some reason, the entire group of over 300 demigods, plus various spirits, had been woken up at four in the morning to start their first task.

He poured ketchup over his sausages and glanced over to where Piper was sitting. She glared at him.

"You might want to know why you have to be awake this early," continued Chiron, to a universal nod, "and the answer is... because it's important for your first challenge!"

A thud from the back of the pavilion; Travis had fallen asleep in his scrambled eggs. Katie prodded him gently in the side.

"What is our first challenge?" Clarisse took a break from glowering at Betty - who was trying to pull Chris into a conversation - to shout what the few people actually half awake were wondering.

"We will be sending you into Daedalus' maze in pairs for three days. In order to win, you must come reach our outpost in Portugal. You must also have collected a laurel from the one in Canada, and a stone tablet from the station in Mexico. You must use the maze to navigate, you must have a tracking device between your pair to be activated only if you need saving or get hopelessly lost, and you must get there within the time limit of seventy-two hours. Is that clear?"

A general murmur of assent from the gathered demigods.

"Right! Partner up, gather your equipment, and meet by Zeus' fist in twenty minutes!"

Jason caught Piper's eye again, and gestured to the side. She stamped her way over to him.

"Don't you dare mess this up, Grace. I've got a lot riding on this challenge."

He blinked innocently at her. "I won't mess up if you don't. Now, what are you going to pack?"

XxX

His pack wasn't _really_ big enough to fit three litre bottles of water; sandwiches for breakfast and lunch for the two of them for two days (cheese and pickle, and turkey); ziploc bags of ambrosia; a few spools of string; and a map of the America - he forced them all in it anyway. He had absolutely no idea what _Piper_ was supposed to be packing...

When they met up by the entrance to the labyrinth, she had a small satchel swinging from her tanned shoulders, and her bronze dagger at her hip.

"What's in the bag?"

She smirked at him. "Wouldn't you like to know?" Then she seemed to shake herself. "I charmspoke some equipment out of the Hephaestus cabin. It should tell us where we have to go."

He drew in a deep breath. He might as well _try_ it...

"Listen, if we're going to-"

"If you're going to tell me that we should try to get along, save your breath. This changes nothing. Now, is Drew ready to let you go down into the maze?"

That was a low blow. "I don't need Drew's permission to do things!" He glanced over to where Drew was flirting heavily with her partner Sen.

"Let's go," he muttered, and they plunged into the darkness of the labyrinth.

XxX

Things went wrong almost at once, and of _course_ it was Jason's fault.

After walking in silence for twenty paces, the tunnel widened and became a crossroads. Four passageways extended before them, each one emitting a pale blue glow. Piper stopped.

"Which way do we go?"

"I don't know," snapped Jason. "Why don't you try to charmspeak the bricks into giving us directions?"

She gave him a look that quite clearly said, _drop dead._ "We just head a few steps down each one, then go back and try the next one." She held her hand out to Jason.

"What?"

"Give me the string, sparky. I want to navigate."

"What string?"

Her kaleidoscope eyes widened slightly, then she puffed out her cheeks and blew an exasperated breath. "The string you tied to the post by the entrance, dummy. You know, the _string!"_

"You didn't tell me to tie the string to the post at the entrance!"

She snorted. "Typical. Well, we'll just have to backtrack to the entrance and tie the string. Thanks a lot."

They turned... and were faced with another four tunnels.

"Which one did we come down?!"

"I don't know! You're the one that didn't tie the string so we can't follow it back!"

"That wasn't _my_ fault! You didn't tell me to do that!"

Piper rolled her eyes. "Do I have to tell you to eat and sleep too? Use your brain, dummy!"

"At least I have one, Airhead!"

"Show off!"

"Liar!"

"Attention seeker!"

"Snake!"

They were almost nose to nose, shouting at the top of their voices.

"Loser!"

"Cheater!"

"Failure!"

"Pathetic!"

"Um, guys?" ventured Kayla from Apollo. She and her partner, Leila from Forth Legion, had come down one of the passages and were watching the exchange as though it were a tennis match.

"SHUT UP!" They yelled together, and Kayla raised her hands, then pulled Leila down another tunnel.

"All that lightning must have scrambled your brain!"

"At least I'm not a liability in battle! What can Aphrodite do?"

She slapped him across the face and he reeled back a few paces, cheek stinging. When he'd straightened up, he was clutching his gladius in one hand. Piper drew her weapon too, and they faced each other, breathing heavily.

"You'll regret that, Beauty Queen."

"Or maybe you're the one that's going to regret things," she snarled back.

At that moment, Clarisse and Charlotte sprinted through the chamber and away again. Charlotte's blonde hair was singed and smoking, and one of Clarisse's sleeves was torn.

Jason growled at the interruption, and Piper took advantage of his distraction to launch herself at him.

He parried her first strike, then tried to bring the hilt of his sword down onto her helmet.

Then the ceiling fell in.

Jason caught a brief glimpse of sharp fangs and yellow eyes; of sinuous coils of muscle and gleaming claws - then he hit the wall of the chamber and slid down it, his sword slipping from between limp fingers.

 **A/N Um, heeheehee...**

 **~Fi**


	7. Chapter 7

Piper didn't care that Drew had started dating Jason, she told herself. It wasn't like Jason was anything to her. He was only -

And then they entered the maze and he'd gotten them lost within the first half hour. Halfway through their shouting match (which she was kinda enjoying, not that she'd ever tell anyone), the world had ended.

At least, that was what it felt like, she thought, as she pushed a chunk of rubble off her chest. Trust her luck. Attacked by a giant snake thing that brings the cavern down on top-

The giant snake thing. Where did it go? She glanced frantically around the collapsed cave, desperately trying to make out movement in the smoke filled air.

There it was! It was on the other side of the space, it's head bent down as though it was about to...

Eat Jason, who, predictably, was right in the middle of the fight. Honestly, was there anything that he didn't have to be the centre of attention in?

And then she realised that he wasn't fighting the snake at all - if you can call a sixty metre long, ten metre thick creature with scales like sharpened roof tiles a snake. For one thing, he wasn't moving; she could just see his white blond hair against the cave wall, and it was in exactly the same place as it had been a few seconds ago. For another, his sword was lying ten metres away from him.

He was defenceless.

Before she really knew what she was doing, she'd grabbed a chunk of fallen rock and hurled it at the monster's mottled white head, where it connected with a slight thunk.

The thing whirled around, its fangs bared and dripping green foam and its eyes an acid yellow; contorting its body it began to slither towards her.

Well, at least it wasn't about to eat Jason.

Great. She was staring into the maw of a ginormous snake that was trying to kill her, and all she could worry about was the safety of a boy she didn't even like. She didn't. She hated him. She absolutely, absolutely, from the bottom of her (rather beautiful) heart -

It lunged and she jumped to one side, reaching for her dagger; it wasn't in her belt. She remembered drawing it during her argument with Jason - she supposed it was under the rubble somewhere: totally useless and probably bent out of shape. Shame.

The creature made to bite her again and she rolled past it towards the spot she had last glimpsed Jason's sword - not usually her style, but beggars can't be choosers.

The handle fitted snugly in her palm, which surprised her, as most other swords she found uncomfortable; it gleamed a light gold in the dust filled air. The snake's head rose into the air as it scanned the cave for her, swaying hypocritically on its sinuous, scaly body, and it hissed angrily.

Lead it away from Jason. That was the first thing to do.

"Over here!" She ran towards one exit, praying it would follow, that she had its attention.

Its blunt head slammed down next to her and she almost screamed - she had its attention.

Ten metres to the tunnel entrance - then she might have a chance. Five metres.

Then the surroundings changed. Instead of being in a colossal ruined cave, she was now in a tiny, warm, pinkish cave, with sharp white stones around the walls and a curious ribbed pattern. The roof spiralled away into the darkness, and a flailing thing was undulating through the enclosed space, almost like...

Exactly like a tongue. She was in the snake's mouth.

Ducking to avoid its tongue, she tried to escape out to the side - but it was too late.

The 'cave' lurched into the air, and then she was sliding along its tongue and down its throat. She didn't even gave time to scream as it swallowed her whole.

 **A/N Sorry it's so short. Also, please don't kill me.**

 **~Fi**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N I'm sorry I took so long to continue! I've gotten over my writer's block now, though. Probably.**

 **Thank you, theonewhoisBEST ! That means quite a lot...**

Am I going to die now? That was Piper's first thought as she slid down the serpent's slimy oesophagus. It seemed like a bit of a let down after all she'd been through, really. After killing the hydra with the rest of her cabin, and cleaning out a nest of scorpions, she felt she at least deserved a hero's death - slowly decomposing inside a monster's belly seemed like a bit of a let down.

She landed in the beast's stomach with a splash and shook herself. She didn't _want_ to die.

Scanning her surroundings, she cursed the fact that her torch was buried under the rubble in the cave somewhere. It would have been useful in here... A bronze glow was coming from beside her. Looking down, she discovered that somehow, miraculously, she had managed to keep hold of Jason's sword; it was glowing faintly.

Raising it above her head and squinting to make out the reached of the creatures stomach, she looked carefully around.

It was warm and humid, and smelled slightly rancid - the remnants of the snake's last meal? There was a lump of... stuff a few metres away from here, with something white poking out of one end. Resolving to avoid going closer, she stepped slowly in the other direction, breathing through her nose and trying not to gag.

There had to be a way out somewhere...

Clunk! Her foot struck something hard, and she almost dropped the sword in shock; bending cautiously, she scraped away the layer of slime already coating it and was rewarded with a faint glimmer. Brining the glowing weapon closer to it, she was just as to make out characters inscribed on it:

 **SPQR**

 **CHB**

 **FIRST GAMES WEEK**

It was one of the stone tablets - one of the ones they were supposed to collect from the station in Mexico! That would save them having to travel there and find it... she wondered where the snake had gotten it from.

Probably Clarisse and Charlotte - they'd have to find a new one. Now all she had to do was get out of the snake monster - preferably alive - with the tablet, and they'd be half way to winning.

She realised with a jolt that she'd unconsciously started to refer to her and Jason as a team. If they ever got out of this mess, she swore to herself that she'd apologise to him - he didn't deserve her spite, not really.

She turned in a slow circle, pondering her escape, and a smile spread across her face.

 **A/N Reviews...?**

 **~Fi**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N I tried to make a longer chapter, responding to a review. All appreciated, as ever!**

Jason's head hurt. He opened his eyes blearily and watched the ground spin around, trying to figure out what had happened. Had the world ended?

He decided, after a time, that it probably hadn't, as he still seemed to be breathing.

Standing up proved to be a problem, as his legs seemed to have shut down, but eventually he managed to pull himself to his feet on a pile of rubble. The cave was a wreck; whatever it was that had attacked them had...

Attacked _them._

 _Piper._

He turned his head desperately from side to side to try at find her - slumped against a wall, perhaps, as he had been - but it was futile. The air was thick with white dust, restricting his vision and hiding the surroundings. She could be three metres away and he'd never know...

Something moved nearby. Piper...? Then it came into viewing range and proved him wrong. That was _definitely not_ Piper. (Unless she'd grown to about a hundred times her usual size, lost her limbs, and grown fangs and scales.)

The snake seemed a little disoriented, but opened its mouth and tasted the air; it turned towards him and slithered slowly over the loose stones. It was ten metres away... five... three...

It hissed, enveloping him in warm, rancid air, and he turned his face away, knowing he had no weapon. Knowing he could not run.

Knowing he was about to die.

Pulling back its head, the massive reptile reared its head back, ready to strike. Its teeth dripped strands of saliva, each tooth a foot long; its scales rock hard and razor sharp. Jason took a deep breath and -

The monster exploded into dust.

"Urgh," commented Piper, stepping away from the remains (a fold of skin, a few bones, and some unidentifiable objects) and wiping slime off of her hands. "Gross."

 **/~\**

Jason stared at her. "I - Piper - what?"

She rolled her eyes and held out his sword and a piece of shiny stone. "Do I have to explain everything to you, Sparky? Hold these." Although the words were unkind, the tone in which she said them could not have been more different.

Taking the objects, he sheathed his sword at his waist and turned his attention to the rock. It was filthy.

"Why were you inside that... thing?" He asked weakly.

"I let it eat me, obviously." Something about the way she said the words made him think that she had not really had any choice in the matter, but he didn't call her up on it. She _had_ just saved his life.

"Okay, continue."

She glowered at him.

"So, I let it eat me, and I ended up in its stomach. Don't even ask. You don't want to know. But I found some stuff, then cut it up from the inside with your sword - also an experience I'm not keen to repeat. Next time, you're the one killing things from within their guts." She shuddered.

Jason wiped the slime off the stone with his sleeve. He gasped. "Piper, when you said you found some stuff, did you mean...?"

She nodded tiredly. "Yes. That stone tablet we were meant to pick up in Mexico."

The dim light glinted on the letters inscribed on the surface:

 **SPQR**

 **CHB**

 **FIRST GAMES WEEK**

"Way to go, Piper! Now we only have two more places to find!"

She shook her head and gestured at his sword. "I lost my dagger - we can't really go on without a full set of weapons. If we meet something else..."

Jason noted that she'd started referring to them as a team as well. Small steps.

Then he turned his mind to the problem at hand and scanned the cave. Her dagger was probably crushed to bits under all the fallen stone; even if it wasn't, it would take them hours, even days, to find it. His eyes found the snake's carcass. "Wait. I think..."

He could feel her wide, kaleidoscope eyes on his back as he crossed to it and picked up one of the bones - about half as thick as his wrist and maybe as long as his forearm - but he ignored her, using his blade to shave long strips off of it until it was as sharp as her old weapon. Wrapping the handle in an offcut of skin (it was slightly softer now that it was no longer needed to protect the serpent from attack), he handed the roughly fashioned dagger to her, expecting little to no acknowledgement.

He was surprised. She smiled widely at him as she took it, and he was hit yet again by how beautiful she was, even when covered with slime from the belly of a giant monster.

"Thanks, Sparky."

"You're welcome. And don't call me Sparky, Beauty Queen."

He tucked the stone tablet into his bag and offered her a PB&J sandwich, which she also took.

"I won't call you Sparky if you don't call me Beauty Queen, okay?"

Chuckling, he led the way out of the cave and into a less destroyed passage. Then a thought struck him. "Hey, so we still don't know where we are - or how to get back to Camp..."

She shrugged. "Doesn't matter: we'll find a way anyway." A pause. "I'm, uhm, sorry about blaming you for that. Not that it's not your fault - it kinda is," she clarified quickly - "but it was partially me too."

He smiled and took the almost apology. "Forgotten, Beauty Queen. Friends?"

She deliberated, and he shook his head in exasperation. "Not friends, not yet. But allies, certainly, Sparky."

"Don't call me Sparky."

"Whatever you say, _Sparky."_

 **A/N So, opinions, anyone?**

 **~Fi**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Hiya guys, and happy New Year or whatever. I'm going to try to update at least every Wednesday, which should be easier now because I'm faster at typing on a laptop than my phone… Hope you had a decent holiday.**

Either because this part of the maze was meant to be a break from death traps and monsters, or because Clarisse and her partner had cleared it for them already, Jason and Piper met no further obstacles for the next hour and a half. In Piper's opinion, this was the least the maze could do for them. Almost being digested by one monster a day was one more monster a day than she would have liked, it being an entirely unpleasant experience.

She fingered the dagger hanging at her waist. The bone handle was cool and smooth to the touch, like a flagstone that's seen decades of people treading over it and has been polished because of it. It was also razor sharp, but she was uncertain as to whether that would mean anything. Most monsters could only be hurt be celestial bronze… She terminated that line of thinking. With her luck, she'd probably find out the answer to that sooner than she wanted.

"What're you thinking?"

She glanced at Jason, surprised, and saw that he was smiling at her. When he smiled, the cute scar on his upper lip crinkled slightly, and – no. Not thinking about the way the dim light in the tunnel glints off of his pale blond hair, or about the way his slightly ripped shirt – wait a minute. Dim light?

"Turn off the torch, Jason."

He blinked. "Uhm, okay?"

There was a click and they were plunged into darkness. Or rather, slightly dimmer light.

"Can you see anything?" Piper prayed that she wasn't going mad. That would really make a bad day into a nightmare…

"What am I meant to be looking at, Beauty Queen?" She rolled her eyes at the ridiculous nickname. "All I can see is rocks, tunnel, more rocks, some dust… Is there anything else?"

"I was more asking if you could see at all, as we should have been in darkness since you turned the torch off…" She waited for him to catch on. It wasn't that he was unintelligent, Piper reflected – he always came up with good strategies for capture the flag and war games – but if he wasn't looking for something, he tended not to see it. Most people were like that.

He blinked confusedly and looked around again. "Oh! I guess it _is_ lighter than it should be… Where's the light coming from?"

Piper shook her head and shrugged, then stepped towards the nearest wall and ran her fingers across it. It felt… well, it felt like any other piece of jaggedy, rocky wall you could find in an underground maze. Nothing strange or peculiar about it at all. So if the glow wasn't coming from the walls, where could it be coming from? Nothing on the floor, and she couldn't hear anything, so it probably wasn't a monster or another pair of campers…

Jason tugged at her sleeve and pointed upwards. "Look. There's a crack in the ceiling…"

Piper glanced at the roof of the tunnel and saw that there was indeed a flaw in the stone above them. A gap, about five centimetres wide, stretched ahead of them, following the line of the path. She couldn't tell how deep it was, but the light was definitely coming from up inside it.

On the whole, it was slightly irritating that Jason had spotted it first. "We should try following that." She glanced at him to see his reaction; he caught her gaze and nodded.

"Sounds good to me. Gives us a purpose anyway, rather than us just wandering around down here…" He took a few steps forward, then looked over his shoulder at her. "Coming?"

"Of course." She fell into step next to him, hoping that they weren't walking to their deaths. She'd had enough of walking to her death for one lifetime.

When they reached a split in the passage, the crack followed the left fork, so they did as well. The tunnels became more and more earth-like, hard rock turning to compressed earth the smell of warm foliage getting near and nearer. Eventually, the passage opened out into another huge cavern; it could not have been more different from the cave in which she had fought the snake.

A thick carpet of luscious green grass blanketed the earthen floor, and tall trees with thick trunks and wide spread leaves were dotted around in clumps. Steam was rising slowly from the underbrush, and the chirping of small insects – cicadas? – filled the air. Creepers papered the cave walls, vines hung from every available outcropping, and sparkling pools of water reflected the mossy ceiling – the only reminder that they were still underground.

Piper looked at Jason to see how he was reacting to the sudden change in environment. "This was unexpected, wasn't it?"

He nodded and swallowed. "I wasn't anticipating running into a eutopia down here. Hades, sure, but not a paradise like this -"

A roar from the nearest patch of trees preceded a loud scurrying, and several small pig-like things burst from the foliage, squealing loudly. A second later, one of the pig creatures was gone. Piper frowned and looked more closely, and turned just in time to see a scaly head shoot out of the trees, grab another animal in a set of powerful jaws, and retreat again.

She raised an eyebrow. "Paradise, huh?"

Jason raised a finger and pointed at the far side of the cave, where they could just see a pale light. "I think the path continues that way."

"Great. Ready to run, Sparky?"

He shook his head. "Did you see the speed of that thing? I don't think running is what we want to do here – try stealth mode."

Piper thought about it for a moment, trying to find something to argue about, then nodded. "Stealth mode it is."

The stepped forward into the tropical cavern.

 **A/N DA DA DAAAAA!**

 **I will get this done eventually, I promise. R &R please?**

 **~Fi**


	11. Chapter 11

Stealth mode worked _really_ well. They managed to get ten metres into the cave, taking cover in the long grasses at the edges of the floor and treading as quietly as they could, before something went wrong. Really, Jason thought, what had he been expecting? Nothing about his plans ever went … well, to plan.

This time, the thing going wrong actually had nothing to do with him. Or Piper – although she would probably say it was his fault for suggesting stealth mode in the first place. Or would she? He didn't really have long to ponder this from his new position, curled up in the shrubbery, as the reptilian monster attacking wasn't in the mood for accommodating its victims' need for thought in the short seconds before it killed them.

A head snaked sinuously through the trees, violet eyes darting left and right as it searched for him. He watched it, waiting for it to look away. As soon as it did, he would make a break for the next copse of trees, trying to make it to the opposite side of the cavern. He _had_ wanted to just backtrack and find a different route – had wanted to do that ever since he had first seen the subterranean eutopia – but Piper had disappeared before he could suggest it.

A stream of acid splattered rocky wall next to him, hissing and spitting as it burnt a sizable hole in the surface and winding its way down towards him; he had stayed still too long. He looked straight into the monster's purple eyes, trying to gauge his chances of getting out alive, and decided they were more or less nil. What the Hades, he thought, drawing his sword and stabbing at the scaly head (the body had yet to make an appearance). As he attacked, he tried to work his way around the head, tried to get the entrance to the cave behind the monster so that he could back away towards the direction he wanted to go. Hopefully, Piper would be waiting for him there.

On the other hand, maybe not. Out of the corner of his eye, he could just see her lithe form darting around anther attacker. It looked, from the brief glance he managed to get before he had to return his attention to the thing attacking him, very similar to his own monster.

He felt his sword slide deeply into something with a sickening squelch and he jerked his gaze back towards the snake's head. He tugged his sword, and it stuck – then it was yanked from his hand as the head reared into the air, its long neck undulating as it screamed in pain. Jason almost found himself sympathising with it – it couldn't be nice to have a sword as long as his forearm stabbed into your eyeball – but then it turned its one remaining eye back at him and spat acid again. He leapt sideways as it melted a pond into the grassy floor, then leapt again as the head swung towards him.

From his new vantage point on the monster's neck, he was able to claw his way up to the frill of purple spikes and hold on with his knees to stop himself falling as the creature flailed in agony. He reached for the handle of his sword again and pulled. Nothing. He pulled harder and his attacker arched its neck and turned upside down. Hanging by his knees, he gave the sword one final tug and managed to dislodge it; the great bulbous eye popped and sprayed him with a sweet smelling, viscous goo.

"Yech!"

He waited for the thing to right itself. After a few more moments of twisting and spitting, it complied, and he was able to raise his sword and bring it down sharply on the softer area of skin where the scales met the ruff he was sitting behind. As it caught the light, he heard Piper scream something – it was only after the head had disintegrated and he had rolled onto he springy grass that he registered what it was she had said:

"STOP!"

He stared at her, bewildered. Did she want to train this thing as a pet or something? Then he saw her spring upwards to meet the heads she was fighting – two identical replicas of the one he had just dispatched. Horror mounting in his chest, he turned back to the thing he thought he had just killed.

It wasn't dead. Worse than that, the wound was no longer a gaping hole where the monster's head should be – instead, it was a boiling mass of flesh, splitting and separating, reforming, teeth slicing up between gums and four venomous purple eyes snapping open.

 _Hydra._

It roared at him as he backed away, drew its heads upwards, and spewed acid once more. He couldn't fight this thing. If he couldn't find the body, then there was no way he could kill it, and the way things were going, the heads would finish him off before he could find it. He felt the air move behind him and glanced quickly over his shoulder – Piper.

He grabbed her wrist and she shoot a look at him, half annoyed, half desperate. Then he started running, pulling her after him, his blood singing in his ears as his feet pounded over the soft green grass; she followed after him.

They dodged yet another spray of acid, ducking around a clump of trees in the centre of the cavern. Half way there. Jason's breath was coming in short sharp bursts, and his lungs felt full of powdered glass – three quarters across the cave.

He could just see, in the brief moments that he looked up from the emerald carpet to check how far they had to go, that the cave was far longer than it was wide. It could probably house several herds of party ponies, with room for the few other sane creatures to hide out without being found for a while.

Ten metres. He could hear Piper's breath being ripped from her chest as they sprinted. Five metres. A strange tearing sound alerted him to the danger, and he pulled her inside the tunnel just in time. Acid splattered onto the rock wall outside and the Hydra screamed in fury as the molten rock sealed off the entrance, entombing them in darkness.

They stayed stock still for a moment, panting heavily. Then Jason rummaged around inside his bag – miraculously still hanging from his left shoulder – and flicked on his torch. The crack in the ceiling continued down the passageway: hopefully, they weren't just walking into a dead end.

"Guess there's no way back through there…" He grinned at Piper and she smiled reluctantly back.

"Stealth mode was a good idea, wasn't it?" She started laughing before she had finished the question, and he joined in. So they had just been attacked by a Hydra that had probably been alive for almost half a millennium. So they had just almost died. So they were probably walking to their deaths anyway. So what?

Eventually, he managed to stop. Extending his hand to her, he smiled at Piper and said, "Shall we keep going then?"

She nodded and allowed him to pull her to her feet. "Do you have any more sandwiches, Sparky?"

He handed one to her. "Here you go, Beauty Queen…"

Their gentle teasing echoed off the bare walls as they walked. Gradually, the temperature started to drop, and by the time the crack in the roof opened out to reveal the steel grey sky the floor was covered in frost and they were having to tread carefully to avoid slipping.

Piper shivered. Looking at her, Jason decided that they should probably find somewhere to rest before continuing – preferably somewhere on the surface. Less chance of a monster attack. Wordlessly, he handed her his spare jumper, then went back to scanning the walls as she pulled it over her mane of chocolate hair.

"Jason?" He looked at her. "Is that a ladder?" She pointed at something in the wall. It _was_ a ladder.

Climbing it, Jason found himself inside a large, orange and purple tent. Food was on a table, and there were blankets in one corner; a pile of golden wreaths rested in the other.

"Is this…?"

Piper scrambled up behind him and stood by his shoulder. "Yes, I think it is. We made it to Canada, Sparky."

 **A/N: There we go. Read and Review please?**

 **~Fi**


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay, first off I'm so so sorry I've been so busy and then I started forgetting and then I had no inspiration, and you've all heard this before. Sorry…**

 _Piper's P.O.V_

They had what they needed: the wreaths and the laurels.

Canada and… Mexico? Piper couldn't remember. She didn't feel she needed to remember. Grabbing a chocolate bar from the table, she unwrapped it absently as Jason stuffed a laurel into the bag.

Then he too turned to the table.

Fifteen minutes later, they were full and watered, and beginning to think properly again. Piper stretched her hands above her head and sighed. "Should we get a move on? If we're going to make it to Arizona before the others to…"

"Portugal," Jason corrected. "And don't you think it would be a better idea to rest here for a while? If we have to face another of those giant monsters we'd need our energy up…"

Piper sighed, but agreed. She didn't even bother arguing. Maybe Jason wasn't always wrong… just mostly. He passed her a blanket, and then took one for himself, sitting in front of her and smiling. The small scar on his upper lip twitched and she swallowed slightly, looking at her sneaker clad feet. There was a lot of dirt on them: mud and slime and dust and monster blood, as well as something that could be tar. Where had that come from?

Clearing his throat, Jason said, "How… uh, will things be the same when this is over? I mean… will we still try to kill each other every second?"

She froze. She hadn't thought about that at all, but it would be the natural thing to assume that something might differ. Jason seemed to take her silence for discouragement and looked at the floor:

"It's just… I thought that maybe things might be different. We started working together, and… I quite liked it. You're not so bad, Beauty Queen."

The nickname no-longer annoyed her any more and she smiled slightly. "No. At least, killing each other can be reserved specially for the weekends, okay?"

He jerked his pale blue eyes up to look her and she blushed lightly, then cursed herself.

"And… you're not so bad yourself, Sparky. Budge over." She shuffled across and sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Within a few seconds, she was asleep.

Jason quickly followed suit.

They were woken some time later by a crash, and someone cursing loudly.

Piper sprang to her feet, her hand already on her blade and scanning the tent for possible threats; half a glance at Jason showed that he had drawn his sword and electricity was crackling across his fingers.

That would have been useful earlier.

Then she noticed the wreckage of the food table in front of her, someone tan and blond lying with a bowl (previously containing pears) over his head. He groaned and sat up, rubbing his hair from his eyes to reveal Will Solace. Piper raised an eyebrow at the tent's other occupant, a scowling black haired boy.

"I warned him." Nico's cheeks were flushed, and Piper raised her other eyebrow before helping Will to his feet. Jason sheathed his sword with embarrassment.

"I only put my hand on your shoulder, Neeks – there was no need to shove me…" Chuckling ruefully, the blond picked up a muffin and picked a blueberry out of it before tossing it to Nico.

"As nice as it is to see you guys, we" she started, with the full intention of leaving; then Jason cleared his throat and pointed at Nico's satchel, mouthing _'they have a tablet too.'_ And idea occurred to her. "…we need your help!"

All three heads jerked around to look at her. Nico dropped the half eaten muffin. "Why should we help you?"

"How can we help you?"

"We do? Piper…?"

She shook her head. "We all have everything we need now, right? Tablet, laurels. All we need is to get to Arizona –"

"Portugal," they chorused.

"- quickly. Say, through shadow travel." Grinning, she looked up at them.

Will was shaking his head. Jason looked as though someone had shown him… something important. Nico scowled. "No."

"Aww, please, Nico…" She considered charming him into it, but then remembered charm-speak didn't work as well on people not attracted to her anyway. And it would have been cruel.

"I said no." He grabbed up his muffin and turned around, staring at the canvas wall resolutely.

She sighed and approached him from behind, letting Jason try to convince Will this was a good idea. "Nico, please. We're lost already and you owe me a favour…"

He shook his head. "That would be cheating – another time."

"And…"

He still wouldn't look at her.

She took a deep breath. "And if you don't, I'll tell a certain blond how you feel about him." That wasn't really blackmail, she told herself. Nico would get around to it eventually, and…

And she really didn't want to go back into that maze. Not at all.

Nope.

Nothing doing.

The Italian looked as though she had hit him with a brick. "You _wouldn't!_ "

"I would. Please, Nico?" She pulled her best puppy-dog eyes at him, and he kicked the ground moodily with his toe.

"Fine. But I'll get you back for this."

"I'm sure you will."

She smiled at him, and, at last, he smiled faintly back.

"Everyone form a chain."

Jason grabbed Will's sleeve and after a second's hesitation Piper grabbed Jason's hand. He glanced at her, surprised, and she blushed. Nico grabbed Will's sleeve on his other side (Piper did not miss the way the blond's eyes followed Nico's movements) and stepped forwards into the shadows.

There was that cold, momentary rushing feeling, the feeling that she couldn't breathe, that she was going so fast her skin would start peeling –

And then they were blinking in the sunlight, another tent pitched in front of them. The air was hot and slightly humid.

Nico shivered lightly and tightened his grip on Will's sleeve; other than that he gave no outward reaction.

Jason smiled at her, and they walked towards Chiron's silhouette in the tent.

 _ **Results:**_

 _ **1**_ _ **st**_ _ **place: Reyna and Rachel.**_

 _ **2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **place: Clarisse and Lacy.**_

 _ **3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **place: Jason and Piper; Will and Nico (Although it is under debate whether shadow-travel is against the rules)**_

 _ **Well done everyone – Chiron**_

 _ **I suppose I must congratulate you brats. -Dionysus**_

 _ **New rules for future games:**_

 _ **Percy and Annabeth are not allowed to 'take advantage' of 'getting lost'**_

 _ **Travis and Katie are not allowed to 'take advantage' of 'getting lost'**_

 _ **No other couple is allowed to 'take advantage' of 'getting lost'**_

 _ **Jason and Piper are not allowed to try and 'pursuade' other couples to give up their placing or otherwise help them**_

 _ **Nico is not allowed to attack his partner.**_

 _ **Will is not allowed to kiss his partner. It makes a scene. – Dionysus**_

 _ **Will is allowed to kiss his partner. Don't be ridiculous. -Chiron**_

 _ **Is not. – Dionysus**_

 _ **Is too. -Chiron**_

 **Aaand… I think I'm done there. I'm sorry you guys had to wait so long.**

 **Hehe, signing off for the last time (On this story)**

 **Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favourited, followed, or even just tried to read.**

 **Fi**


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